


The Crab and the Fish

by Bardic_Bat



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Affairs, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Freeform, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, Oops, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Rare Pairings, Slow Burn, is fefkat rare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-10-06 19:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10342785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bardic_Bat/pseuds/Bardic_Bat
Summary: She was over the top, bubbly and abrasive at times, yet she was so much better than him.He was loud, shouty and straight up rude, but he had a much softer side.(Pale Fefkat, I just really wanted to write some fluff for them.)





	1. Spotted, Captured, Culled

He glanced down at his hands, at the blood that leaked from a tiny cut. He berated himself for being so stupid, so useless, and so clumsy. Red, redder than any blood ought to be shone against the grey, painfully obvious.   
He didn't even know why he hiked all the way the fuck out to the shitty ass ocean. it was blue, what the fuck had he expected? Green? Purple? A troll with an aquatic lower half to swim up to the shore, kiss him and make his blood the color of _hers_?  
Of course, he was lying to himself. He knew exactly why he had come down to the stupid fucking sea- it was her. Feferi. He growled to himself, picking at his tiny wound. Gravel had stuck in there.  
Of all the ways to bleed, he had simply fallen. He had been walking along the shore, fine and dandy, trying his very best to enjoy the salty air, and he hadn't noticed the huge ass rock in his way -really, looking at it now, it seemed tiny- and tripped. Hands had flown out to protect himself, but there must've been some universal plot against him today, because there was a very sharp thing in the gravel that cut open his palm.  
Now, candy red blood smudged part of the ground, slowly being cleaned by the water as he stood, scowling and wanting to scream. All this for some lousy, annoying, cheery, beautiful, wonderful troll who probably didn't care as much about him as he thought she did.   
He sat down on the rock he had tripped on and gazed on the rushing blue waters. He didn't feel so angry anymore. Looking at the ocean...he felt calmer. It always made him feel that way. Not because it was blue, or gentle, but because she lived down there, in the depths.  
With him always close by. That stuck up, shit-eating seadweller with the most annoying accent to ever have the unfortunate chance to grace the fucking planet. Eridan Ampora made him want to punch something- preferably his smug face. His blood was the closets’ to her's, sure, but he was such...such...  
He sighed as words failed him and the lapping of the waves entranced him again into a strange peace. He couldn't be properly angry here. He watched as the water completely cleaned the ground of the remains of his blood, even as more dripped onto the stony surface.  
Sometimes he wondered if things in there could smell, see and taste his blood.  
He'd rather be killed by one of the things in her domain than a highblood.   
He'd rather be killed by her.   
Sighing, he prepared himself to leave. He had only visited a few times before and each time he had to call her to the surface to talk, and even then it was dangerous. He desperately wanted to know how to swim, to grow whatever she had to let her breath under water, to live a happy life with his pale crush. But she always refused to teach him, and he had never badgered her about learning.   
It was nigh impossible for his dream to come true anyway.   
He had begun to walk back home, before anyone could find him here. He looked at his hand, and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, grimacing. He needed to cover it, in case anyone saw. Not that anyone would be out at this time.  
Then there was a splash behind him, and a concerned melodious, high-pitched, wonderful voice. He felt his knees almost buckle at the sound of it.  
“Karkat?” she questioned, and he could hear her emerge from the waters, “Water you doing out here, Crabcatch?”  
He shuddered, hopefully not enough for her to notice, adjusted his face and turned around. He nearly smiled at the site of Feferi.  
She was taller than him, so he was forced to look upwards at her. She was chubbier, but her legs and arms had clearly defined muscles within there. Her hips and shoulders were equally wide, and water dripped in a puddle around her, as she flipped long, dark, messy hair over her shoulder. In her hand was her double-ended trident, and on her forehead, her tiara. Her skirt dragged lightly behind her, right where Karkat’s blood had been moments ago.  
“Oh, hey, Feferi,” he half-heartedly growled.   
“Is everything alright?” she asked, walking towards him.  
“I’m fine,” he hesitated, keeping his hand firmly pressed into the sleeve of his shirt, “Just, tripped and got a small scratch.”  
“Oh! Let me look at it, I’ll patch you up Crabcatch!” she smiled widely, using her nickname for him.  
He loved hated it.  
“No, really it’s fine Fef. It’s fucking tiny,” he insisted, “Besides, it’s late and I should haul my ass back to my hive.”  
“I insist on culling you, Mr.Vantas, and I will not let you leave until I do,” Feferi said, grabbing the wrist of his injured hand. Her grip was like a manacle, and although he struggled, he couldn’t stop her from flipping his hand over and gasping in shock.  
Right then and there, he was prepared to have that trident rammed through his body in the act of actual culling, not the act of kindness she was trying to make the word mean.  
Hell, he knew if he was to be killed, he wanted her to do it.  
Instead, nothing happened. Feferi simply stared, awestruck, horrified, and then clutched his hand closer to her, beautiful grey smudged with his blasphemous red.  
Then, to Karkat’s disbelief she mustered up all her optimism and chirped, “I said I insisted on culling you.”  
He sputtered wildly as she dragged him to the rock he tripped over before, and sat him down, smiling as she carefully cut part of his shirt away with her trident.  
“Y-you’re not disgusted by me?” he spat out, and before she could say more continued, “You’re not going to fucking kill me, or chain me up, or assert yourself, or rid the world of my pitiful, useless ass?”  
“Of course not silly! I’m going to cull you- I’m going to take care of you, as best I can! Besides, why would you want to die Crabcatch?”  
“Because….because…I’m useless I’m a wreck all I am is angry and shouty and horrible and terrible and an awful friend and pitiful an-“  
He was cut off by Feferi gently pressing one finger against his lips, the binding on his hand complete. He hadn’t noticed how she was sitting in front of him, almost at eye level. She didn’t say anything- she just stopped him. Karkat had complained to her before, and she…well.  
She had begun to have feelings for him.  
He was always so rough, and angry, straight-up rude. But he had a softer side, rarely seen, but shown to her a few times.  
She liked it.  
“You’re a lot more than that, Karkat,” she said simply, with a small smile.   
Karkat looked at her, searching for signs of mockery, or anger, or something to show that she was lying to him, something to confirm what he thought of himself, and how he thought he failed all of his friends. How he was an oversensitive jerk, with fucking mutant blood.  
There was nothing of the sort there.   
He sniffled sharply, and almost against his will, he lunged forward and hugged her.  
He fucking hugged the heir to the throne.  
And she laughed. Her trident lay on the beach as she hugged Karkat back, listening to the soft snuffles that gave away how hard he was trying not to cry. She rubbed his messy mop of hair, making the front of his clothes damp with ocean-water, and she giggled, holding him close in comfort.  
Culling him.  
Then, very suddenly he broke the hug horrified at himself. You didn’t just hug other trolls, not unless you were in a pale romance with them- a moirallegiance.   
“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t even fucking think, you’re in a moirallegiance with that as-“ he cut himself short, before he could call Eridan any names.  
“You mean Eridan?”  
“Yeah. Him.”  
“It’s alright, I know you don’t like him,” she said, smiling assuredly. Did she ever stop smiling? Others might find it unnerving, considering her full set of razor sharp teeth, but he could stare at it all day, if it was that same comforting smile.   
“I-I should get home,” he stuttered, getting up and brushing himself off.  
Feferi grabbed his wrist again, stopping him as she stood too.   
She wasn’t an idiot. She could tell Karkat had very, very pale feelings for her.  
In all honesty, she had pale feelings for him too. She had stopped feeling those strongly for Eridan a while ago, but never said it. She always felt like she was holding back the tide with him, but if she didn’t keep him in check, who would?  
Maybe she could do that, and pursue something with Karkat. No one needed to know.  
Karkat stopped, praying for her to say the words he so badly wanted to hear. To hear her say something about an affair.  
Or a change of mind, something about his death.  
“Crabcatch…I really like you,” she said, dropping the fish puns. She had been doing that almost the whole time, and he hadn’t even noticed.  
“Visit me again, sometime soon?


	2. The Start of... Something

He sighed in anger, trying to get his brain to think of anything else but her. His husktop was open to some shitty coding he was “working” on, half finished and barely functional for testing.   
He had accidentally written her name at the end, right there, staring at him. Karkat tried his best not to look at it, as if it was some kind of shameful secret.   
Which, of course, it kind of was.   
He hadn't visited her again yet. It had been five days since that hug, and he could still feel her skin on his. Karkat’s messages to her were quick, nervous and shy. She knew exactly why- it was pretty obvious.   
But he had made a personal promise to visit her again, within the week. Time was running out, and he knew he'd regret it forever if he didn't keep that small promise.   
Sighing heavily he closed the husktop, pulled on a clean shirt, and looked down at his right hand.   
A scar was there, just a bit lighter than his skin. She had done a good job bandaging it up, but he had picked relentlessly at the scab.   
It reminded him of her.   
Tucking his hands into his pants pockets he trotted to the door, and then paused.   
“Crabdad, I'm going out for a few hours!” Karkat shouted, and exited. The walk to the sea would take a while. He could hear his lusus make disgruntled noises as he strode from his hive. The big beast could deal with his own problems.   
Karkat stared ahead, at the dark landscape. It was flat, boring and very ordinary. A few hives could be spotted in the distance, warm lights glowing with a false feeling of welcoming. Many of them were better planned than his.   
A breeze seemed to carry the scent of the sea on it, briny and cold. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination or not, but he could almost smell a dead lusus laced in it.   
Breathing it in heavily, he somehow knew that she would be waiting on the shore for him, smiling as usual, strong and wonderful and beautiful, almost glittering in the light. Patient and kind. And soft- she was soft, a layer of chubbiness covering her taunt muscles, the way her skin felt so smooth and unblemished, the way-  
He shook his head, trying not to think of that hug. It was never supposed to happen, and the more he found himself going back to that the more he found himself thinking of cuddling, and hugging more, braiding her hair, crying in her shoulder...and those just weren't things you were supposed to think of a troll who wasn't your morial, unless you were pale for them.   
And she wasn't free.   
He kicked a rock absentmindedly, thinking of his romance novels. His life was beginning to look like one.   
Karkat hardly seemed to notice the time passing as he walked, and by the time he got to the shore he didn't realize how long he had been out for. Sighing, he sat down on the rock he had five days earlier and gazed at the water.   
Often, before she came from them, he thought of throwing himself in.   
Not drowning himself, not really, but just flailing on the surface, sopping wet and gasping for air before he could struggle back to land. Maybe he would drown- he wouldn't complain. But he had a strange longing to want to swim, to be where she was. He thought that maybe if he dived in, she would finally relent and show him how to properly swim, and then they could go away together.   
Course, he couldn't breath underwater.   
He stared listlessly, until he saw the telltale ripple. Her head came first, horns bright orange, then her black, curly, messy hair with her bright gold tiara, followed by her cute, round face and pretty eyes. She smiled at him, rows of teeth like weapons, and he smiled back.   
Once she surfaced she pushed her goggles back, and rushed up to him, obviously about to embrace him before she thought better of it.   
“You visited Crabcatch!!” Feferi said excitedly.   
“Course I fucking did, I just. Had stuff,” he scruffed his shoe against the ground, hands angrily stuffed in his pockets as he tried not to flush.   
“Whale, I'm excited!!! It always seems to take you forever to come and sea me!” she beamed and suddenly grabbed his wrists, yanking his hands out and pulling him along a bit, exclaiming, “I want to show you something reely interesting.”  
Karkat made a small yelp as she gave his hands a hard pull, making him stumble after the strong troll. He sometimes wondered where she got the muscle before remembering she killed a lot of lusui and swam everywhere.   
His feet couldn't seem to keep up with hers, getting stuck on rocks and tripping up in the sand and gravel. He was so focused on not falling face first that he didn't notice where Feferi had brought him.   
She nudged his ribs and with a soft sound he looked up at whatever it was.   
A huge carcass had washed up on shore. It looked….. Karkat gulped.   
“I-Isn't that Gamzee’s lusus?” he asked shakily.   
“Yeah!!”  
“I-is he dead?”  
“Water you talking about, Karkat? He's very, very alive!”  
“Why does he look fucking dead?”  
“He's sleeping, silly,” she said and then gently laid on a hand on the huge goat like creature. Her hand rose just anbit and fell just as much with the lusus’ breathing.   
Karkat blinked, feeling his panic melt away. Of course the old goat was sleeping. If he was dead Gamzee would have said something. His lusus may leave for a long time, but never more than a week, and Karkat remembered seeing the beast just two days ago.   
Quietly he followed Feferi’s lead, but touching the lusus only reminded him even more of Gamzee.   
His moirial.   
He clenched his teeth to keep from sighing at the thought, to keep from yelling.   
“I saw him a few days ago, you know,” he said, casting about for something to say.   
“That sounds reely nice! Are you and Gamzee still pale?”  
“Uh, yeah,” he shifted, blinking.   
“So are Eridan and I. I mean, if I don't keep him from killing all the land-dwellers I'm not entirely sure who would,” she paused, “I know he couldn't but, i don't want to risk it.”  
Karkat nodded, not sure what to say. Feferi had opened up to him before, not a lot, but she had. This however, was the first time she was so straightforward.   
“He doesn't deserve you,” he mumbled.   
“I wouldn't say that. I'm not feeling pale for him anymore though,” she commented.   
“Then break it off.”  
“Who would be there to hold back the tide then?”  
“It's not your responsibility to take care of that shithead, Fef. You should be free to be with whoever you want!” Karkat restrained himself from shouting, looking stubbornly at his hand. He couldn't bare to lock eyes.   
“It may not be my responsibility, but I am the heir! I am here to make sure that trolls don't get hurt and that there's some trolls left to be empress of! It's almost like you're suggesting I stop feeding my lusus.”  
“That's not or at all! You-I. You just deserve better,” he could almost hear her thinking.   
“What do you mean?”  
“It's like you're doing all the work in the relationship. Maybe not all, but most,” Karkat explained, “You’ve never mentioned him helping you”  
“I guess so- but he's not that bad, really. Just misguided,” she smiled bittersweetly and then picking back up the fish puns, “Like a pufferfish.”  
Silence fell on the pair, Feferi gently rubbing the goat creature, and slowly Karkat followed her lead. He understood what she was trying to say, but it hurt him.   
Their hands brushed, and he glanced at her, moving it away quickly.  
Somehow, before he knew it, Feferi’s hand was over his, showing him how to properly pet the lusus.   
“Thanks. I. I get what you're saying. I hate the fact it has to be you, though,” he said lamely.   
“It's not so bad,” her hand moved lightly, guiding his, “Reely. It's like feeding my lusus- it's just needed.”  
“It sucks.”  
Again, silence. Slowly Feferi tugged him away and they sat down on a nearby rock.  
“Look, Crabcatch. I really like you.”  
“I like you too,” he said impulsively.   
“I know. And, well. Since neither of us can get out of our pale relationships, why don't we just….” she trailed off.   
“Have an affair?” he questioned.   
“Yeah.”  
“That's...it's like one of my shitty romances.”  
Feferi looked worried at that, at the situation.   
“I like it,” Karkat said, taking her hand and smiling.


End file.
